Local History Class Blasts to the Past on a WW2 Destroyer Battleship

We are looking forward to another academic year filled with classroom lessons and regular trips within the Capital Region. Professor Michelle Brown has been a dependable instructor within the College Experience for years and has taught the Local History and Mythology classes. This semester she is instructing Public Speaking and is considering a possible evening field trip to the Toast Masters Association that trains people in the art of public speaking. An example of one of her recent field trips was to the USS Slater by the Albany Harbor with the Local History class.

The USS Slater is classified as a Cannon-class destroyer escort that served in the United States Navy during World War II and is now permanently stationed on the Hudson River in Albany, NY. It happens to be the only WWII-era destroyer ship currently afloat in the United States. The students received an accurate visual and verbal depiction of how soldiers lived on the ship while fighting for our freedom overseas. The soldier’s quarters had been made up to look extremely similar to what they would have been like for the average shipmate right down to the black-and-white photographs of the fiancés or wives waiting back home after the fighting finally stopped and they made it back safely.

After its service to our country during World War 2, the ship tour guide also explained that the USS Slater is also a movie star that has been featured in two motion pictures. The ship was seen in The Guns of Navarone (1961) and in August 2008 part of the Japanese film Orion in Midsummer was filmed on board. The USS Slater has also been featured in documentaries on the History Channel.

The students had the time of their lives scaling ladders and testing out the “unloaded” cannons. It was a beautiful day for such a trip to the past. We all appreciate the students for representing the program in such a professional fashion within the community and the instructors for their leadership.